


Lady Knight

by IllegalCerebral



Series: CM Bingo 2019 [6]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Blind Date, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Meet-Cute, Nerdiness, Secret Relationship, Swordfighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-05-16 14:40:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19320238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllegalCerebral/pseuds/IllegalCerebral
Summary: During his brief stint as a professor thanks to Barnes, Spencer runs into a colleague with an interesting teaching method. He can't stop thinking about the woman in armour.It's nice to finally meet someone who appreciates his love of knowledge and sharing facts and she isn't going to let anyone else put him down either.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Initially this was a one shot but it grew into a five parter!

The first time Spencer saw her, he didn’t. He’d been on the phone with Garcia as he headed for his afternoon class, listening to her despair about the grey and beige wardrobe she’d had to buy for her new role in cybercrimes. As he’d turned the corner he’d collided with a shiny metal blur and fell straight backwards. His phone skidded out of his hand and his books and papers blew around him.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry!” a woman gasped, “Please let me help you”

“No it was my fault I-“ Spencer stopped and looked up. His face scrunched up in confusion as his gaze moved from the pretty face down to the chainmail shirt, some kind of leather doublet and the huge sword gripped in her hand.

“No I was in a hurry” she insisted, holding out her hand, which Spencer took. In a swift movement she pulled him to his feet and then began gathering the books and papers, rambling more apologies. The metal scraped as she moved, the sun glinting off her gauntlets. As his brain scrambled for something even semi-coherent to say she thrust the books into his arms.

“I’m really sorry, I have to go. Have you seen my-aha!” she seized a helmet from where it had rolled off the path and onto the grass and tucked it under one arm “Sorry again!” Dazed, Spencer watched as she sprinted across campus. No one else seemed the slightest bit perturbed by the lady knight.

“Reid? Reid!” Spencer suddenly remembered his phone and snatched it up from his feet.

“I’m here”

“What was that?”

“It was…I…never mind. What were you saying?”

* * *

 

The next time he saw her, she was teaching a class. It was a glorious, sunny day and she stood resplendent in her armour, surrounded by a circle of students. They were too far away for Spencer to hear what she was saying but her face was animated and she gestured wildly. Looking at the students’ reactions, it was going down a storm. Every so often she would pull one of them to their feet, guide them into a fighting stance and give them a weapon to hold. Despite the obvious health and safety concerns the students loved it.

Spencer loved it too. The passion and enthusiasm on her face was infectious. There is a kind of magic that erupts when people are allowed to immerse themselves in what they love and share it with others. As soon as the last student dispersed he headed over. He had no idea what he was going to say, just that he was going to say something. Recognition clouded her face as he stopped in front of her.

“I hope you don’t think this is weird. We met a week or so ago. I say meet but I crashed into you and I didn’t get a chance to apologise then I saw you were teaching and it looked fascinating and I just…” Spencer trailed off; face flushed as it dawned on him how ridiculous he must sound.

“I remember!” she said, “I barrelled into you. The fault was completely mine, no sorry needed. I’m y/n”

“Dr Spencer Reid”

“The FBI agent!” she grinned, “You’re kind of famous on campus you know. I hear you have quite the following”

“What?” Spencer sputtered. She laughed. It was lilting, rippling through her whole body, and lighting up her face. Spencer’s stomach did a little flip as she nodded.

“Highest number of applications to audit a class in the history of the University” she said.

“No, that can’t be true”

“Oh it is!”

“What about you” Spencer gestured to her outfit, “I bet your classes are over subscribed”

“I do okay” she shrugged, “Less now that I’ve been warned to stop giving every student a weapon. The administration asked me to tone it down”

“Where did you get it all?”

“I made some of it, the linen undershirt, the pants and whatnot” she said. She pulled her sword from its sheath and handed it to Spencer. The weight of it took him aback. “I studied in France for a few years and got a guy there to teach me how to make chainmail. The brigandine” she pointed to the green leather vest over the mail “was made by a colleague who specialises in recreating historical leather working techniques. The helm, spaulder and gauntlets I bought and the sword is from a local blacksmith”

“They still have those?” marvelled Spencer as he turned the sword over in his hands. If he weren’t afraid of looking stupid he would have been tempted to give it a swing.

“She’s a researcher too” y/n laughed, “We go to re-enactments together every summer and she takes commissions. This was designed specially for me”

“Has it served you well in battle?”

“I’ve been told I can’t take it to department meetings…anymore. It’s a shame because I think it would be good for persuading them to give us more funding”

“I could do with something like that” Spencer handed her back the sword as he thought of Barnes, “Good for slaying dragons” Y/n raised an eyebrow.

“Tell you what, when you’re next free how about I show you how to use it?”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah! Maybe in return I could come and watch one of your lectures? I can see if you live up to your reputation”

“That would be awesome”

* * *

 

It never happened. A call from Luke and a captured serial killer later and the BAU was back to its former glory. It was a relief…mostly. After grabbing his stuff from his office at the University Spencer stopped by the history department and knocked on the door with y/n’s name on.

“Hey” he shuffled in awkwardly.

“Hi Spencer! What can I…you’re leaving?” her eyes fell on the box of books and knick-knacks Spencer hugged to his chest. Did she look sad?

“Yeah. I guess you can say the dragon was slain so the FBI is sending me back to my old unit”

“Oh that’s great,” she said, quietly.

“You know I run seminars for FBI agents. They’re one off ones, I get to choose whatever I cover. If you’re still interested maybe you could sit in at Quantico?”

“I’d love to” she said, “It’s kind of busy around here though”

“I was think of doing some stuff on medieval weaponry, the spectacle of it” Spencer decided. He could do that right? It was his choice after all. “I could use a co-presenter. Maybe we could go over some research…” 

“You could just ask me to dinner” she smiled, “I love talking about my work, don’t get me wrong but I’d also like to learn more about you”

“Oh” Spencer felt his cheeks redden, “I want that too.”

“It’s a date. Should I bring the sword?”

“Definitely”


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you literally going to fight that woman?” gasped Spencer. The woman in question was practicing with a two-handed sword that she swung with deadly expertise. Y/N looked up at him and tried to hide her smile.

“Yes I am” she said with a flourish of her own weapon, “Don’t worry it’s perfectly safe”

“You’re whacking each other with swords. Real swords!” Spencer yelped. As far a third dates went this one was unique. Dinner had been pleasant; they’d talked for hours about their work, their friends, and their passions. They’d stayed so long at the restaurant that they were politely asked to leave. They texted each other and spoke on the phone while trying to arrange another dinner so each knew what the other was up to. A case had gotten in the way of their second date, coffee this time and so to make up for it she had invited Spencer to a weekend long fair that celebrated history. What she had failed to mention was that she was a competitor in the long sword competition. As Y/N warmed up Spencer had watched a few skirmishes, his stomach growing more and more knotted.

“I don’t like the idea of you getting hurt” he blurted out. The smile dropped from Y/N’s face. If anyone else had said that to her she would be annoyed at the apparent doubt they had in her skills. With Spencer though she knew it was something else and that was unexpectedly touching. Without thinking she stood on her tiptoes to give him what she hoped was a reassuring peck on the cheek. The look of fear was briefly replaced with a look of shock and a pink dusting on his cheeks.

“There are rules to make sure no one gets hurt and we both know what we’re doing. I promise”

Spencer opened his mouth and then closed it against. His discomfort was painfully obvious.

“If you’re so worried you should give me a favour for good luck?”

“A favour…”

“For your knight to wear as protection” she teased, “I would expect you to know your courtly love tropes a little better than this Spencer”

His face grew darker as he spluttered and stuttered, a coherent sentence far out of reach. Instead she leaned in close again, the kiss this time was firmer, and with her lips lingering on his cheek while her hand brushed his jaw.

“I’m not sure I have anything that would work,” he said, weakly as she pulled away.

“This?” her fingers brushed his mauve tie. Spencer slipped it off without a word and wrapped it around Y/N’s extended wrist, making sure it wasn’t too tight. “Perfect, now I can’t lose”

A bracer and gauntlet covered the tie and after a quick check of all the straps and buckles she did a twirl.

“How do I look?”

“Fit for battle” The worry was still there and even one finally kiss didn’t chase it away fully. Spencer’s heart was in his mouth as she made her way to the duelling area and greeted her opponent.

It wasn’t as brutal as Spencer had feared. The clash of steel against steel reverberated through his insides but once the initial, primal fear had been conquered he was able to look, really look at what they were doing. The movements were controlled, each blow carefully calculated and precisely delivered. Even with the heavy armour and leathers she was light on her feet, swiftly dodging hits and changing direction to parry.

It wasn’t a long bout but it felt like an eternity until the crowd erupted in cheers and the adjudicator held both competitors arms aloft. A tie. Relief crashed over Spencer like a wave and a huge smile split his face when she bounded towards him.

“Told you I wouldn’t get hurt”

“Must have been the favour”

“Maybe you’re my good luck charm,” she said, “Let me change, and then we can go explore”

There was plenty to do. More tournaments to see (a lot more fun when other people were fighting), demonstrations, and stalls packed the field. Y/N seemed to know most of the people there; a lot of them were researchers too. They chatted to a blacksmith who had made her armour and Spencer even had a go hammering metal. He wasn’t really cut out for that. They ate with some friends who asked about his work. To his surprise Y/N launched into a detailed explanation about a talk he and Rossi had given in Iowa about spotting signs of coercive control and how to aid victims while keeping them safe. It was almost a word for word retelling and Spencer could only sit in wonder as she gushed over his work and how he saved people.

“Like a modern day knight in shining armour” she said. She couldn’t keep the pride from her voice. Without thinking she reached out and took his hand and Spencer sat there mutely revelling in the warmth as the conversation turned towards later events, Oakshott typology and their highlights of the weekend.

“You really remembered all that stuff about my talk?” Spencer asked later as they strolled around a stall selling ornate daggers after lunch.

“Well yeah” she frowned, “You were really proud of that and it was really important. Of course I remembered.”

“I know it’s just…” Spencer stopped. He shuffled a little, suddenly feeling self conscious, “I guess I didn’t really think you were taking it all in”

“What?”

“I talk a lot”

“So?”

Her fingers brushed a long narrow knife and she picked it up to turn it around and examine the twisted design on the hilt.

“That’s a _misericorde_ right?” said Spencer, “You showed me one yesterday? The name comes from the Latin meaning “act of mercy””

“Because it was used to deliver the death blow to mortally wounded knights” said Y/N, “I talk a lot too. You remembered”

She set the dagger back down and turned to face him fully.

“Yeah but I can go on a lot and-“

“But nothing” she said, holding up a hand, “No one should ever make you feel that way. That’s what people do when they care about each other. They take an interest in their work and the things they love” her voice was soft.

“You care about me?”

Now it was her turn to blush “I do,” she mumbled, gazing up at him through her lashes and biting her lip to smother a grin that tried to break though.

“I…care about you too”

As they continued browsing she slipped her hand into his, the tie still wrapped around her wrist securely. He wouldn’t ask for it back, he wanted the luck to stay with her.


	3. Chapter 3

This had to be a form of torture, Spencer thought gloomily as he shoved his papers in his satchel so he could leave. Garcia was blocking his way however, eyes huge and pleading.

“My friend Lori says she really nice, super smart and-“

“Garcia please” said Spencer, “I appreciate the thought and I’m sure Lori’s friend is perfectly lovely but I’m just not interested in going on a blind date”

“How about you just meet her?” said JJ, in her most motherly voice.

Spencer had to take a deep, ground breath. Penelope’s offer came from a loving place, he knew that, but the fact that she couldn’t take no for an answer sent his stress levels skyrocketing. It may have been partly his fault seeing as six months into dating Y/N he still hadn’t told the team about her. He wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed it was just…

“Okay” Garcia held up her hands, “I will back off but if you change your mind let me know”

“I will”

“Spencer” JJ began once Garcia was out of earshot, “She’s only trying to help, and if you’re worried about going on a date we can give you advice”

There it was, the crux of the issue. Spencer could deal with being brushed off, being teased or told to curb his ramblings but he couldn’t deal with them treating Y/N like that.

“Great” it came out more harshly than Spencer intended but he was halfway out the door before JJ could respond, “I’ll see you Monday”

Instead of heading to own apartment, Spencer headed to hers. They had been alternating between weekends there and at his as long as work allowed. Friday night dinner was almost always followed by a movie or talking late into the night and then something fun on Saturday. Sunday always started with breakfast in bed and cuddles that were dragged out to stave off the coming week. It was blissful.

The aroma of spicy chicken wafted through the hallway as Spencer approached. He was salivating by the time he got to the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“What’s wrong?” She turned down the stove and fixed him with a look of concern.

“How do you know something’s wrong?” Spencer was met with a raised eyebrow, “I uh…Garcia tried to set me up today”

He launched into an explanation about how she wouldn’t let it go no matter how many times he said he wasn’t interested and how this Lori woman insisted-

“Wait Lori?”

“Yeah she and Garcia do theatre stuff together,” said Spencer.

“Lori Walker? Wait, does that mean Garcia is Penny?” Y/N burst out laughing, “Oh my god that’s hilarious!”

“How do you know Garcia?”

“I don’t but Lori does costume work at one of the re-enactments I go to and has been bothering about her friend Penny’s cop colleague for weeks! I’m your blind date” she snickered.

That wasn’t possible. The likelihood of their friends matching them up while not realising they knew each other was non-existent. That sort of thing only happened in rom-coms. A quick look at Garcia’s Facebook page confirmed that Lori Walker was indeed the other half of the matchmaking duo and Y/N erupted into laughter again as the plated up their food and sat down to eat.

“Lori’s the nosiest woman in the world,” said Y/N, “And, apart from this instance, she’s terrible at setting people up. You remember my friend Ben, the blacksmith at the fair? Lori set him up with a second cousin or something and he ended up taking a job in Belgium for six months to get away.”

“Garcia isn’t that bad” said Spencer, “She’s just a little, over enthusiastic”

“And you don’t want your colleagues to know about your dating life,” her voice dropped a little.

“It’s not that” Spencer reached across the table, “I promise you”

“Then why don’t you want your team to meet me?”

Spencer squirmed slightly. If he brushed it off she would think he was embarrassed of her but if he told her the truth…would she laugh?

“You remember when I was preparing that talk on medieval weaponry and spectacle?”

“Yeah that was awesome!”

“Well I went to Matt and JJ for advice about how many props I should use. They’ve both taken a lot of seminars. But they just kind of…brushed me off. Like I told you when we first started dating I know I ramble a lot but sometimes I feel like they’re unnecessarily rude and I never want them to make you feel that way. You know JJ offered to give me advice to handle a date, probably so I won’t act weird”

Y/N put down her knife and fork and scooted closer to take both Spencer’s hands in hers.

“First of all, your friends shouldn’t make you feel that way. Second of all, you are kind and charming and funny and made me fall for you with absolutely no help from them so screw their advice” she said, “Thirdly…how about you take Garcia and JJ up on their offer”

Spencer’s mind was still whirling from “made me fall for you” but the wicked grin playing on her lips brought him crashing back to the present.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Only the best blind date ever”

Garcia squealed with delight when Spencer rang to say he had reconsidered. He thought she was going to faint when he said he wanted her and JJ to give him dating tips.  Y/N was at his elbow, stifling giggles throughout the call.

“Phase one is complete,” she said triumphantly when he hung up.

“And Phase two?”

“Putting on a show!”

The date that wasn’t totally a date was arranged for the following weekend. The glee with which Y/N set about making plans would have been off putting to Spencer if he wasn’t secretly excited at the prospect of making a point to his friends. He sat patiently through the frankly cringe worthy advice JJ and Garcia doled out a few days before. They’d roped in Matt and Luke to help. To his credit Luke’s only advice was “be yourself” and “don’t take a date to laser tag because it will reveal a level of competitiveness in both of you that neither realised you possessed”.

“Just stick to small talk” JJ said, kindly, “Nothing heavy. No statistics about infrastructure in the tri-state area. Keep that for a second date”

“Garcia said she was a historian” Spencer said, “We could talk about her work”

“Ask her but let her lead the conversation, don’t overwhelm her with questions” JJ laid what she was sure was a reassuring hand on his arm, “Don’t overthink it. You’ll do great”

Show time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another CM Bingo entry, this one was blind date


	4. Chapter 4

The café chosen for the not-so-blind date was only a short drive from Quantico so the group Garcia had dubbed the dream team met outside the office Saturday morning and bundled into JJ’s car. The primary topic of conversation was the gift that Spencer had bought with him. Truly, he had bought it a month or so ago to celebrate six months being together but it seemed oddly fitting to give it to Y/N now.

No one else agreed.

“Spencer it makes you look like an unsub” gasped Garcia, “Why on earth would to pick that? What’s wrong with flowers?”

“Flowers die. This will last longer” The Virginia roads rolled past, the streets dotted with young families, couples and groups of kids enjoying the unseasonably warm morning. Something pleasant was in the air.

“I’ve got to agree with Garcia. It’s a little odd,” Matt said.

“I’ll see how the date goes, play it by ear,” said Spencer. It was a superhuman feat to keep his face blank as the rest of the car shared a horrified look.

The café itself was bright and clean, with delicately decorated patisserie stacked high in the window. The furniture was all pastels to match the confectionary. The scent of cinnamon flavoured coffee hung in the air, adding to the feeling of comfort.

The dream team took a table on the other side of the café and ordered coffees and cookies while Spencer readied himself for Y/N to arrive. He felt kind of fizzy and in a funny way it was kind of like going out for the first time. Except this time there was an audience.

Garcia audibly gasped when Y/N floated in, causing every head in the place to turn.

“Oh” Spencer said softly as the plan was forgotten in favour of taking in the scene before him. Y/N wore a long medieval style-gown of light red wool with large bell sleeves. There was a soft, white undershirt so her arms were not bare and around her waist was a fine jewelled kirtle. Her hair was swept up and covered with a sheer, muslin veil that flowed down her back, pinned to her head with flowers

“You must be Spencer,” she said loud enough for the others to hear, the smile was impossible to keep from her face. Spencer sprung to his feet, pulling out a chair. As she sat down, he leaned close to whisper in her ear.

“You look beautiful”

“You may be alone in thinking that,” she whispered back, “I think I’ve broken your colleagues”

If Spencer looked at them he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face so instead he headed up to the counter and returned with a pot of tea and a tray of dainty cakes for them to share.

“I was told to avoid any ‘heavy topics’,” said Spencer as he poured them both a cup, “No statistics and no asking you too many questions about your job”

“Not even about the outfit?” Y/N pouted.

“Did you make it?”

“It was supposed to be for the Faire over the summer, they have a dance after the tournament but I decided this was the perfect time to try it on”

“You look beautiful” Spencer said, “And I actually wanted to give you something. Six months is a pretty significant milestone and you are not a flowers kind of girl so…” He slid a long, thin box across the table.

All pretence had been dropped on both their parts. Matt, JJ and Garcia were forgotten as Y/N undid the ribbon. She gasped as she pulled out a delicate butterfly knife. Both handles had an intricate carved pattern that looked like vines and tiny green stones studded in. On the blade itself, her name had been engraved in a beautiful, flowing script. Y/N made a couple of flicks, folding the knife closed and then open again in a swift movement.

“This is beautiful” she said, her eyes glassy “Fair warning. I am going to have to kiss you now”

Spencer beamed. He leaned across the table to kiss her, softly at first and then more firmly, his hand cupping her face and caressing her cheek.

“Okay what the hell?” he heard Garcia say before the others shushed her.

“The jig may be up” Spencer mumbled against her lips, eyes half closed. He could feel the curve of her smile and couldn’t care less what was happening in the rest of the world, let alone the table behind them.

“Maybe” Y/N said, “But I’m pretty sure we can shock them a tiny bit more” She slipped out of her own seat and onto Spencer lap. The kissing this time was anything but chaste and not even the crash of the tray that Garcia sent flying as she stood up could stop them. “We have plenty of tea left over if you want to share ours” Y/N called over.

There was no way Spencer was ever going to forget the look on their faces in that moment. Garcia was beetroot red while JJ was pale as a sheet in contrast and Matt looked like he was grappling with the mysteries of the universe.

“Poor things” sighed Y/N.

“Give them a moment,” said Spencer, “We can keep kissing and I think they’ll get it eventually”

Too soon for Spencer’s liking, they were approached by his sheepish looking colleagues. Y/N smiled up at them sweetly, not shifting from Spencer’s lap. An arm was slung around Spencer’s shoulder and she nestled her head in the crook of his neck For his part, Spencer was beginning to realise that he may not totally be as adverse to public displays of affection as he previously thought. The weight and warmth of her against him was both grounding and emboldening.

“So do you two know each other or have you just hit it off really quickly?” Matt asked. Of the three he seemed the least embarrassed. Perhaps because he had know Spencer the shortest amount of time and didn’t still think of him as a kid.

“Guys this is Dr Y/N, she’s an lecturer in medieval history and an expert in historical weaponry at Marbury. We actually met when I was teaching”

Garcia groaned. “How did Lori and I not know that?”

“Because you both are too eager to set up your friend despite their protest otherwise?” Y/N suggested. Garcia shrunk back a little at that.

“So are you…are you two dating?” JJ asked.

“Six months”

An awkward silence descended and Spencer felt a twinge of guilt at the look of betrayal on JJ and Garcia’s faces.

“You could have just said” Garcia mumbled, “Then I wouldn’t have kept trying to set you up”

“I said I wasn’t interested. That… that should have been enough”

All of a sudden it didn’t seem that funny anymore. Y/N slid off Spencer’s lap and took the seat next to him, a reassuring hand on his arm. The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by JJ, her eyes widening.

“Well you guys sure pulled one over on us” there was a forced jollity in her words, a strain felt by everyone in that moment “I’m guessing that’s the real reason you asked us here”

“Look if Spencer had followed your dating advice then we wouldn’t be together” said Y/N, “Don’t ask questions about my work? Really?”

“Luke’s advice was much better” Spencer nodded, “He said be yourself”

“Now he sounds like he knows what he’s talking about,” said Y/N.

“Hey we wanted you to be yourself too” said Matt.

“Did you?” asked Spencer, “Because all the time you roll your eyes when I talk says otherwise” Garcia went to protest but now that they were here and it was out in the open Spencer wasn’t ready to stop, “I ask you for help about my seminars and you laugh at me, you’re never interested in anything I have to say, you’re constantly telling me to be quiet and framing it as a joke but it isn’t. It’s not funny at all”

“Spence-”

“Why do you think I didn’t tell you about Y/N?”

They stood dumbfounded but whether they still didn’t get it or they didn’t want to acknowledge it Spencer didn’t know.

“Because I don’t want you to treat the woman I love the way you all treat me”

Without another word he stood up and left. Y/N got up to, hesitating for a moment.

“He’s upset,” she said, somewhat unnecessarily, “But he has a point”

“We didn’t mean-“ JJ began.

“I know but you did” Y/N said softly, “You know I was excited to meet you guys because he has told me good things too, I swear”

It took her a little while to catch up with Spencer, his strides being twice as long as hers. She slipped her hand into his, snuggling into his side as they walked.

“I’m sorry I lost it in there”

“By the sounds of it that was a long overdue conversation” said Y/N, “I’m proud of you”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It takes a lot of courage to confront your friends like that” she gave his hand a squeeze, “Plus am still swooning from the fact you referred to me as ‘the woman I love’” Spencer stopped dead. He hadn’t even realised that had slipped out.

“I love you too by the way” she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, “And I may have a way to fix things with your friends while also making sure they behave from now on”

“How?” Spencer drew out the word, doubt clouding his face. Y/N didn’t answer, just grinned in response.


	5. Chapter 5

Y/N was the last person that JJ expected to see waiting for her at the reception of Quantico one morning a few weeks after the disastrous date-that-wasn’t-a-date. Unlike last time she was dressed in modern clothes but she wore the same, mischievous smile that made her uneasy. Though that could just have been her guilty conscience.

“Dr Y/N” JJ said. She was in full agent mode, polite and efficient. “How may I help you?”

“Spencer’s still upset”

“I-“ JJ’s blank mask slipped, her shoulders sagging, “Yeah he’s pretty mad at us”

He hadn’t spoken to JJ, Matt, or Garcia since the incident. The rest of the team was treated to one-word answers and clipped sentences for the first few days as his anger simmered down to a manageable level. In his mind at least everyone was culpable but now his ire was reserved for the worst offenders.  

“And he kind of has the right to be” said Y/N, “You were jerks. But that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because despite your assholery you’re also Spencer’s family and family should learn from fights and become stronger for it”

To her credit, the look of indignation only flashed across JJ’s face briefly before she resumed her neutral expression.

“What did you have in mind?”

There was that grin again.

“Be at this address first thing on Sunday morning to make amends. Wear comfortable shoes”

Somehow, the entire unit got roped into trudging across a field at far-too-early-o’clock on Sunday. JJ claimed it was because they could all stand to earn Spencer’s forgiveness but really it was because of her firm belief that there was safety in numbers.

“I can’t believe you three got us into this” grumbled Rossi for the eighth time, “You had to interfere in Spencer’s love life”

“That’s not really why he’s pissed” said Luke, “Y/N didn’t lure us here to kill us or anything like that. She cares about Spencer and we’re a team of elite government agen-hey a horse!” he jogged ahead to where Y/N, dressed in chainmail and a leather tunic and boots was petting a brown stallion. Behind her were a pile of weapons, armour, clothes, and another horse, this one bay.

“He’s gorgeous” Luke said, petting the horse, “What’s his name?”

“Bertran” smiled Y/N, “He’s named after a famous troubadour. The bay horse is Giraut”

“I’m not riding a horse because JJ and Garcia couldn’t keep their noses out of Reid’s business,” declared Tara.

“I will totally ride a horse because he’s lovely, aren’t you boy?” cooed Luke.

“There’s no riding yet” smiled Y/N; “Today you guys begin your training as squires in preparation for knighthood”

“We’re federal agents” Matt folded his arms, “We’re basically the modern version of the Knights Templar”

“The Templars were founded to act as bodyguards for pilgrims,” said Y/N, “They weren’t law enforcement. Knights were elite military personnel but they also adhered to codes of conduct and that is what we’re going to focus on today”

“Thanks you guys,” hissed Tara.

“Chivalry! Defending the defenceless, being true to your word and being generous to the poor! I am so here for this” said Luke, “When do we start?”

“Right now. Squires took care of their knights, horses, weapons and equipment so you guys are carrying all of this up that hill where it will be cleaned and polished ready for you to wear”

“How is this supposed to stop Reid being mad at us?” Garcia asked.

“Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil” quoted Luke, “I think she’s making a point about the way you treated Spencer and made him feel bad about getting excited about things”

“But we didn’t mean it like that” JJ, hoisted a bag over her shoulder and immediately regretted it. They began their ascent, trailing behind Y/N who was striding ahead. It was a beautiful day and the sun was not yet too high so there was a pleasant coolness in the air.

“Yeah well that doesn’t matter” said Emily as she gingerly coaxed Giraut forward, “Because it still hurt Spencer so we’re going to make it up to him in whatever bizarre way we can”

“Do you think she has any more armour because I would love to dress up,” said Luke.

“Alvez I swear to god I will push you down this hill” groaned Tara.

It took over an hour to just get everything up the hill to a makeshift camp formed of a couple of tents, a fire pit and two long tables for the gear to be set on. Unbeknownst to them Y/N had roped in some re-enactment buddies to help her the day before.

It then took another hour to clean it all and lay it out for Y/N to inspect. To Luke’s delight she went through every item, it’s historical context, how it worked and how it was made. She answered every question (of which there were many) with a wry smile but she never spoke down to them or made them feel stupid.

“Now it’s time for you guys to get changed” she said, “We’re going to have a Hastilude”

“We’re not going to like this are we?” sighed Emily.

“You’ll love it,” teased Y/N, “So  Hastilude is a broad term, it can refer to loads of different types of martial games. These were initially to develop skills used in battle but they developed into pageantry and a celebration of chivalry and noble lineage”

“So it’s fake right?” Garcia asked, wringing her hands together, “We aren’t actually fighting?” Her heart sank as Y/N’s grin widened.

They started off with the quintain, a kind of mannequin on a pole with a shield.  Y/N instructed them to line up in front of it.

“Quintain refers to this piece of kit and also a game where competitors would try and hit it. You can play on horseback or on foot and since you guys don’t seem like riders that’s what we’re going to try today”

“So we just hit it? That sounds easy”

“Then why don’t you try first Agent Simmons?”

“How heavy is this thing?” Matt frowned, bouncing his wrist slightly.

“Only four pounds. That’s an Estoc, also called a tuck. The blade is edgeless but the point is very sharp. It’s designed to be used with two hands”

Matt’s first swing missed. It was heavier than a gun but four pounds was still manageable. The problem however was the length and balance. Y/N took the sword from Matt and thrust it forward, sending the quintain lurching back.

“I’ve been unkind” she explained, “This is a Polish sword, the blade alone is almost a meter and a half but there are shorter examples”

“I’d prefer a gun”

“I figured you’d say that. Next it’s a Zweihander”

This one was even heavier and longer and Matt struggled to lift it, barely nudging the quintain.

“That one is closer to six pounds but there’s a sword on display in the Friers museum that weighs fifteen pounds and the wielder was said to be able to behead a man with a single stroke. How about I start you guys off on something easier?” laughed Y/N. It wasn’t unkind and some of the tension in the group started to dissipate.

She had them take turns and each got to try a variety of sword and spears while helping them get into position and shift their weight to make delivering blows easier. The team were hesitant and first, there were scrapes and falls aplenty but by the time they broke for lunch they could at least stay on their feet and each of them had manage to deliver a few serious blows to the quintain.

At noon Y/N relented and they were allowed to stop, a chorus of cheers and sighs of relief erupting from the group.  Over the crest of the hill a familiar figure ambled through the grass, the shock on his face melting into a wry smile.

“It’s Spencer!” Garcia clambered up from the ground where they were enjoying a lunch of cold meat, bread and cheese, “It’s so good to see you”

“What have you guys been up to?” his amused gaze swept over them before he settled down next to Y/N, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“They are my unruly squires for the day” Y/N chuckled.

“Uh we’re not all unruly,” protested Luke, “Some of us have the makings of disciplined knights. I’m ready to go fight a dragon right now”

“Uh huh”

“Yeah that might be a stretch” laughed Y/N, “But they have definitely picked up a code of conduct befitting knights”

“Kindness” said JJ, shifting slightly, “And humility”

“Loyalty” added Matt,

“Not being a jerk to your friend and taking his skills for granted and making him feel bad because we’re the absolute worst” added Garcia.

There was a pause as they looked hopefully at Spencer. He slung an arm around Y/N’s shoulder, pulling her close.

“That sounds great you guys”

“We are sorry,” said JJ, “I think we’ll all be a little more considerate going forward”

“Yeah because as fun as this was I was not built to be a knight” said Rossi, “I’m more King material. Maybe a Duke at a push”

“Then I relieve you all of your duties until such time the realm is in danger again” Y/N bowed her head, “There is a re-enactment next month that you guys are welcome to come to though. Just as spectators, I promise you don’t have to fight”

“I’m in,” said Luke,

“You guys need to see Y/N fight, she’s seriously impressive,” Spencer launched into a detailed account of her last couple of competitions. Y/N looked round, studying the group’s expressions. Each of them was listening; there was no eye rolling or moves to interrupt. They just listened and smiled, enjoying their friend’s happiness. She settled back into his embrace and let his words wash over her.

**Author's Note:**

> Another CM bingo entry (am I half way yet?) This fulfils my meet cute square!


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